How to Keep Your Small Business Growing During the Coronavirus Slowdown

Searching for ideas to keep your small business growing during the Coronavirus slowdown? Here are a few creative ways to stay afloat during a time when many small business owners are forced to cutback hours, staff and spend less on marketing.

Storefronts

If your city is allowing you to work at your business, consider setting up an outside table or “lemonade stand” in front? It’s easy really. Simply put up a feather flag or some balloons and hand out samples, drinks, and other small items to those who pass by. 

You could set up two 6-foot tables long ways side-by-side to keep the recommended 6-foot social distancing between your employees and the general public. You can even offer free items to service workers. Announce the time and date on Facebook with an event, and re-post on your other social channels.

You might also want to announce sales events socially and offer to deliver your items for free, with a bonus. Example: If you are a restaurant, offer a free roll of paper towels with any meal delivered.

Online businesses

Ever thought about holding a social media contest to attract customers, whether on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram? The winner can get a coupon for 20% off any item when they shop online, or even a free item added to a purchase. 

Examples can include sharing hashtags, asking customers to share your posts, or having contests where customers post photos with your products or services for a prize. You might even want to offer contests or a trivia contest. Again, you can use your existing Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts to announce and help people participate easily.

Referrals

Now more than ever it's time to connect with local referring customers and businesses and align with them to support each other. If you haven’t built a local following yet, there is a popular solution that can allow you to align with up to 1500 local businesses (and potential customers) in your city. It’s called SmartGuy®.

SmartGuy is one of the largest exclusive business directory and networks in the world, growing by hundreds of businesses a day. In as little as 1-2 minutes, you can add your business for free and be connected with other local referring businesses that agree to provide great service and refer each other whenever possible.

• When adding your business to SmartGuy, you get:
• Listed in your Local SmartGuy City Directory
• Listed in the Local SmartGuy Business Referral Network
• Listed and linked in articles that are already on the top of search engines
• And you’ll be provided an editable web page that can rank on top of search engines in as little as 1-2 weeks!
  

But the most important aspect is that you can join hundreds and hundreds of other local businesses in a massive referral network. Keep in mind, they are not only business owners, but also potential customers for your product or service!

Take advantage of all these ideas and services available now to help prepare your business to catapult forward as things turn around.